Night vault



il. L. FLAG@ NIGHT VAULT Dec. 13, 932,

Filed July 30, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet l 22:55 wrze,

C L. FLAGG NIGHT VAULT Dec. 13, 1932.

Filed July 30. 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 C.' L. FLAGG NIGHT vAULT Dec. 13, 1932.

5 Sheets-Sheet 3' Filed July 30, 1929 Patented Dec. 13, 1932 Unirse? STA-TES PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION, OF MASSACHUSETTS 1,890,941lfL PATE-Nr OFFICE -CLARENCEL FLAGG, OF ATLANTIC, MAsSAoHUsETTsnssIGNOnTo BANKERS EL-EcrJLRIC BOSTON, MASSAoHUsnT'Ts;l A, CORPORATION f or* NIGHT vAULT Application filed .TulyV 30, 19295y Serial'No. 382,255.

having a passageway communicating withl `I-thefeXterior of the bank building whereby the customers of a'bank may deposit money or other valuables after banking hours.

Owing to the earlyclosing hours of most b-ankinginstitutions it is usually necessary forbusiness and commercial houses to retain each days receipt-s over night in the relative insecurityof oiiioe safes or other places which are more or less accessible to intruders. This ,practicev not infrequently results in loss by burglary, especially when funds are keptin the office safeover a week-end or-holiday, and

in .any event increases the danger of loss bysafepbreaking. This dangerhas 'long been recognized and various reinedies'have been;

suggested. A fewbanks, catering largelyto a mercantile clientele, have postponed their closing hours, particularly: on Saturdays,

until late inthe evening;-but this expedient involves a substantial outlay of, unnecessary time and money on the partof'thebank and its personnel, and this practice will not, unless universally adopted,"safeguard'the interests of the majority of depositors.

In order to provide the security of a bank vault forthe evening depositor and to safeguard the bank without prolonging banking hours, I have devised a deposit-chute opening p atfthe .exterior of the bank and communicat- Ling with an interior vault, provided with a t-rapdoor and other safety devices which affordi ample security aga-inst Ytampering 4or burglary. In its recommended form, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings of one embodiment of this invention, the-apparatus comprises. a chute or passageway leading from an accessible exterior opening to the interior vault; a trapdoor hinged at said openthe door; and, preferably, a second trapor gate located in the passageway and adapted .1 to signal the passage of the deposited package to-th'e vault,1as well as to-prevent removal of any of the deposits by a hook or other device dropped through the trap'door.

In the drawings:

Fig.4 l isay fragmentary elevation of thel` outerfwallof abank building, showingfthe` chute opening with its trapdoor in open position to receive a deposit; l

Fig.l 2 is a central vertical section through the apparatus ;l

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section,- to larger scale, showing the trapdoor in closed position Y .and illustrating certain eleinents'of the sig.A

naling mechanism;

VFig.v 4 is a detail' showingthe door hinge and a signal jack,-and indicating diagram'- matically an alarmk device;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sidefview of the-jack and yits actuator;` and Figs. 6 and- 7 are enlarged sections of the' chute illustrating the inner gate;

The improved apparatus maybe arranged at anylocation convenient to an'eXterior wall:

1l of the bank and is preferably surrounded by a concrete-protective wall-.12. The walls of the inclined chute 13 may besheathed` with 7 4metal plates '14 sealed against thfe entrance' casing l5y and the interior vault 16, andthe vvault may have a suitable-safety'door `17 through# which the deposited packages '18'4r A traps' 80 may be-remo-ved by bank employees. door 19 is hinged at the outer entrance of the" chute, and an auxiliary door :20 may be pro-M vided to close over the trapdoor and to'beunlocked by the depositor. A hinged gate* ory detector 21 is preferably pivoted at thev sideof the chute in such ra-man'ner that the@ gate is normally disposed across thepathofV descending .articles but will readily' swing downwardly to allow said articles to fall intoA the vault.

One of the principal featuresof this in-l vention resides in the construction of the trap# door which is now to be described more particularlyin connection with Figs. 3 toof the drawings, 'the 'device beingassociated withr an electrical circuit and certain contacts auto; matically operative' in case an effort is made to remove, break or displace thedoor, to close the circuitof'an alarm or `othersignal. The

trapdoor preferably lcomprises an angle base 100 y plate 22 having a covering 23 of insulating material and provided with side panels 24; an upper plate 25 is fixed to said base plate as by screws 26 threading into bosses 27 carried by the base, the two plates being spaced apart at the central angular region of the door to provide an interior chamber; and a hollow pintle 28 extending transversely of said chamber, through the panels 24, and niqunted inthe side walls of the chute.`

A cable 29 passes through the tubular pivot 28, and comprises conductors 30 which extend through a central slot 0r opening 31 in the pintl'e and connect with switches 32 mounted upon but insulated from base 22 at opposite sides of the pivot. Said switches preferably include three contacts 33, 34 and 35 disposed in spaced parallel relation, the center contact 34 being arranged to close the circuit of either of the adjacent contact members, and being normally urged by its resiliency toward the upper contact 33. The

contact leaf 34 is normally held in inoperative position (Fig. 5) by a. controller pin 36 which is screw-threaded in the upper plate 25, the outer head of the pin being cut off flush with the outer surface of said plate. Hence, if the pressure of the pins 36 is re leased, as by removing the plate-retaining screws 26, or if the pins are depressed, as by hammering the plate 25, the alarm circuit willbe closed by mutual engagement of the contacts 34, 33 or 34, 35 respectively. The alarm circuit will also be energized by short circuiting if an attempt is made to remove the door bodily, as for example by cutting through the pivot 28. Suitable alarm means at any desired point, as for example a bell B, (Fig. 4) is actuated Whenever the circuit through the cable conductors is closed, either at the switches 32 or by short-circuiting.

As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the gate 21 may comprise a plurality of plates or fingers 37 each secured to the sleeve 38 of a pivot 39, as

lby mounting members 40 and 41which are clamped about the sleeve and fastened to the outer ends of the lingers by bolts 42. The mountings serve as weights which tend to depress the outer ends of the fingers normally to support said fingers transversely of the chute 13 in the path of descending articles. These gate mountings are preferably arranged within a metal lined chamber or recess 43 in the concrete wall 12, and the chamber may have a door 44 secured by screws 45 which'are locked by a wire sealing device 46 of usual construction.

Contacts 47 and 48 are preferably disposed in said chamber beneath the weighted ends of the gate fingers, and said contacts are normally held open by engagement of one of the weights 41 with a stud 49 carried by contact 48. When the gate is tilted on its axis by an article falling through the chute, the release of the resilient contact leaf 48 closes an electrical circuit which may operate signal lights 49 (Fig. 2) at the outer door of the chute, thereby to assure the customer that his deposit has dropped to the vault below. The lights are extinguished automatically when the weighted gate resumes its normal position. Additional runs of protective cables 50 may be embedded in the concrete walls around the chute in a well-known manner, and one of these runs may extend through the pivot 39 (Fig. 6) if desired.

Apparatus constructed as above described is easy to install and conveniently accessible for depositing or removing cash, checks or other valuables, yet it is adequately protected against burglary by the mechanical and electrical features of the trapdoor 19 and gate 21 embodied in the delivery chute 13. It will be understood, however, that particular ,structural details of the recommended embodiment may be varied to suit particular purposes without departing from the essence of this invention as defined in the appended claims. The equipment may be utilized by banks, post offices or other institutions to receive deposits of any desired nature at any time when the usual entrances to the building are temporarily closed. The electrical signaling systems may be installed in accordance with common practice, and may operate adjacent or remote signalling bells, buzzers or lights, as desired.

The operation and use of the apparatus is apparent from the foregoing description. After opening the outer door 20, the depositor pulls out the trapdoor 19, as by a convenient handle 5,1, places his deposit envelope or package within the triangular compartment of the box-like trapdoor, and then swings the trapdoor inwardly; whereupon the deposit falls by gravity through chute 13, opens the gate 21 and drops into the vault 16. The angular construction of the trapdoor provides a closure for the chute opening when the door is open (Fig. 2) as well as when closed (Fig. 3) and the gate 21 prevents the withdrawal of a deposited package in case 'an attempt is made to introduce a hook or other retractor through the partially opened door to catch a package in the vault.

I claim:

1. In apparatus of the class described, a downwardly inclined chute leading from an exterior entrance to a vault, a trapdoor pivoted in the chute adjacent its entrance and adapted to receive a package and discharge it down the chute, xsaid door comprising top and bottom members connected in spaced relation and each of said members having parts meeting at an angle so that the chute is substantially obstructed in the receiving and discharging positions of the door, a switch mounted between said members and connected in a signal circuit, and means on one of said members normally holding the switch in inoperative position, said means being arranged to cause operation of the switch when the two members are displaced relatively to each other.

2. In apparatus of the class described, a downwardly inclined chute leading from an exterior entrance to a vault, a trapdoor pivote-d in the chute adjacent its entrance and adapted to receive a package and discharge it down the chute, said door comprising top and bottom members connected in spaced relation and each of said members having parts meeting at an angle so that the chute is substantially obstructed in both the receiving and discharging positions of the door, a switch mounted between said members and connected in a signal circuit, and a projection on one of said members normally engaging a part of the switch to hold the switch in inoperative position, the switch being attached to the other member so that displacement of either member causes relative movement between the switch and the projection thereby to operate the switch.

3. In apparatus of the class described, a downwardly inclined chute leading from an exterior entrance to a vault, a trapdoor pivoted in the chute adjacent its entrance and adapted to receive a package and discharge it down the chute, said door comprising top and bottom members connected in spaced relation and each of said members having parts meeting at an angle so that the chute is substantially obstructed in both the receiving and discharging positions of the door, a switch mounted between said members and connected in a signal circuit, the switch being fixed to one of said members and having three contacts, and a projection on the opposite member normally engaging the middle contact and holding it away from the outer contacts, and the middle contact being movable into engagement with one of the outer contacts when the door members are moved relatively to each other, thereby to operate the switch and close the signal circuit.

4. In apparatus of the class described, a downwardly inclined chute leading from an exterior entrance to a vault, a trapdoor pivoted in the chute adjacent its entrance and adapted to receive a package and discharge it down the chute, said door comprising top and bottom members connected in spaced relation and each of said members having parts meeting at an angle so that the chute is substantially obstructed in both the receiving and discharging positions of the door, a switch mounted between sai-d members and connected in a signal circuit, the door pivot having a passageway therethrough communin cating with the space between the door members, a conductor leading through said passageway to said switch, and means on one of said members normally holding the switch in inoperative position, the holding means being movable by relative displacement of said member to cause the switch to operate.

5. In a chute leading from an exterior entrance to a vault, a door pivotally mounted in the chute and comprising two members connected in spaced relation, and a hollow shaft extending between said members and constituting the pivot of the door, circuit closing means located in the space between said members and connected in a signal circuit, said means comprising a switch operable when one of said members is moved relative to the other, said shaft having an opening communicating with said space, and a cable in said circuit passing through the hollow shaft and leading to the switch through said shaft opening.

6. In a chute leading from an exterior entrance to a vault, a door pivotally mounted in/the chute and comprising two members connected in spaced relation, and a hollow shaft extending between said members and constituting the pivot of the door, circuit closing means located in the space between said members and connected in a signal circuit, said means comprising a switch operable when one of said members is movedV relative to the other, said shaft having an opening communicating with said space, and a cable in said circuit passing through the hollow shaft and leading to the switch through said shaft opening, the cable having a pair of conductors and the signal circuit being normally open and closable when the shaft and cable are severed by a conductive implement which bridges said conductors.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts, this 27th day of July, 1929.

CLARENCE L. FLAGG. 

